New perk! Get after it with local recommendations just for you. Discover nearby events, routes out your door, and hidden gems when you sign up for the Local Running Drop.
Was 2023 the most exciting year in professional triathlon? It’s certainly a contender. From breakthroughs to record-breakers, the year was full of memorable moments from the top pros in our sport. As the 2023 triathlon racing season comes to an end, we’re looking back at the remarkable athletes, performances, and races who made a lasting impression.
The best part? 2024 is shaping up to be an even more amazing year in professional triathlon – and we can’t wait to see it all play out.
Section dividerMen’s Long-Course Performance of the Year: Sam Laidlow, Ironman World Championship Nice
September 2023 saw the first Ironman World Championships outside of the United States, hosted on a spectacular course in Nice, France. The new venue made it even harder than usual to predict the outcome of the men’s race, which was the first to take on the new challenge.
Sam Laidlow, who placed second at the 2022 World Championship race in Kona 2022 was among those with a chance to win, but his 2023 had been a twisty road with more downs than ups: A slower marathon at Challenge Roth with a calf injury, or a DNF at the PTO Asian Open in Singapore. But Laidlow quickly took control of the race in Nice, riding away from one of the strongest fields of the year in the first third of the course, eventually building a lead of five minutes into T2. A 2:41 marathon left no doubt about who was the strongest athlete on the biggest long-distance stage in 2023. With a gap of almost four minutes, Laidlow became the first French Ironman World Champion – on home soil, no less.
Women’s Long-Course Performance of the Year: Lucy Charles-Barclay, Ironman World Championship Kona
When Lucy Charles-Barclay started the women’s Ironman World Championship race in Kona, there were a few question marks about her chances. After all, she had missed most of the summer racing season due to a broken foot; her only race after recovering was a somewhat-disappointing fifth place at the PTO Asian Open. After not winning a swim for the first time in her long-distance racing in Singapore, was she still the dominant swimmer we knew?
But as race day progressed in Kona, Charles-Barclay emphatically answered all the doubters. She quickly swam away from the rest of the field and started the bike with a 90-second lead. She then posted the fastest bike split of the day, eventually building a lead of four minutes to Ironman debutant Taylor Knibb and more than ten minutes to the rest of the field. Charles-Barclay left no doubts about her dominance on the run – even with a painful calf injury, the Brit posted a new marathon PR of 2:57. At the end of the day, Charles-Barclay walked away with the title and a new overall course record of 8:24:31.
Men’s Long-Course Pro of the Year: Kristian Blummenfelt
Kristian Blummenfelt’s focus for the 2023 season was clearly on preparing to defend his Tokyo Olympic Gold medal at the Paris 2024 games. Nonetheless, he raced longer distances, too, and collected a full set of medals in the 2023 PTO Opens. In Ibiza in May, the Norwegian all-rounder was second behind surprise winner Max Neumann. In August, Blummenfelt set up a crazy racing schedule, with four big events within just over three weeks. He started with a third place at the PTO U.S. Open in Milwaukee, where he suffered massive cramps coming off the bike. Two weeks later, he competed in the Test Event for the Paris Games, finishing ninth but knowing what to work on for next year. Straight after he flew to Singapore to compete in the PTO Asian Open where he was finally able to win a PTO race. Up next, the 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, Finland – only one week later. It was that final cross-continent flight that proved one step too far – a flat Blummenfelt was never in serious contention for the world title.
Still, no other athlete had similarly consistent results, and with three podium spots at the biggest races of the year he retained his position at the top of the PTO World Rankings.
Women’s Long-Course Pro of the Year: Anne Haug
Consistently strong racing across the season for Anne Haug secured the German’s spot at the top of the 2023 PTO World Rankings. At the start of the season, Haug won the PTO European Open in Ibiza, beating Ashleigh Gentle for the first time in a 100k race. At Challenge Roth, Haug posted a 2:44 marathon – the fastest of the year, even if she finished second behind Daniela Ryf who posted a new “fastest time” for the Ironman distance. At the PTO Asian Open in Singapore, Haug lost time on the bike when her spare tube got tangled into her rear wheel – still, she was second behind Gentle. Haug was also second in Kona, inching past Gently by only 0.16 points in the final 2023 PTO Rankings.
Section dividerMen’s Short-Course Performance of the Year: Alex Yee, Paris Test Event
After winning the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympic Games, Britain’s Alex Yee seems ready to finish one position higher up in the Paris Games next year. August’s Paris Test Event went extremely well for him, as he only lost a few seconds in the swim and was quickly able to join the front group on the bike. Almost the whole field came together before T2, but then Yee quickly took control of the race. After three-quarters of the run, the Brit had built a lead of almost 30 seconds over all the other contenders, who were left behind to fight for second place and qualifying spots for their teams. Even cruising for the final 2k, Yee posted the fastest run split by 15 seconds.
Women’s Short-Course Performance of the Year: Kate Waugh, Super League Neom
Going into the final race of the 2023 Super League Championship series, Great Britian’s Kate Waugh was in third place overall, behind Jeanne Lehair of Luxemburg and Emma Lombardi of France. The Enduro format (three back-to-back triathlons with no breaks in between) of the finale in Neom, Saudi Arabia, whittled down the field, but at the start of the final run all three title contenders were still within seconds of each other. Behind eventual winner Cassandre Beaugrand (who wasn’t in title contention), Waugh proved to be the strongest runner when it mattered most, finishing in second place and taking the overall 2023 Super League title.
Men’s Short-Course Pro of the Year: Dorian Coninx
Similar to last year, the WTCS Standings before the Grand Finale set up a showdown between Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde, but a few more athletes were still close enough for an outside chance. When Yee didn’t have a good bike and Wilde also fell back and still had a 15-second penalty on the run, it was once again a chance for the more consistent athletes. Dorian Coninx had finished third in the Paris Text Event, already securing his Olympic berth. In Pontevedra, he was able to win the final sprint between four athletes, scoring just enough points to jump from fifth to first and win the 2023 WTCS title in a thrilling conclusion to the 2023 series.
Women’s Short-Course Pro of the Year: Beth Potter
Before this year, Beth Potter had never won a WTCS event. In 2023, she won the two most important races of the season, the Test Event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Grand Finale in Pontevedra, Spain. Before the Grand Finale, Potter and France’s Cassandre Beaugrand were just a few points apart, a win for either of them would guarantee the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series title. As in Paris, Potter was able to unleash her run strength to secure the win, the 2023 title and also a spot on the British team for Paris.
Section dividerMen’s Biggest Upset: Rico Bogen, 70.3 Worlds
At the start of the year, Rico Bogen wasn’t exactly a household name – even in his native Germany, which always has a string of young triathlon hopefuls on the verge of breaking through. Looking back, you could see his potential in May, when he was leading World Triathlon’s Long Distance Championships before exploding on the run, and then going on to win 70.3 Kraichgau against Patrick Lange and other strong Europeans.
Even when he was in the six-person lead group on the bike at the 70.3 World Championships in Lahti, not too many would have picked Bogen for the title. Towards the end of the bike, the race seemed to come down to Mathis Margirier or Frederic Funk, who had built a small gap before T2. But then it took Bogen only 2k to erase a 20-second deficit and take the lead, surprising everyone. It wasn’t just youthful exuberance as he was able to extend his lead slowly but steadily to more than a minute at 14k. He held that gap until the finish banner to become the youngest-ever 70.3 World Champion.
Women’s Biggest Upset: Alice Alberts, Ironman Lake Placid
After finishing sixth at Ironman Texas with a 3:12 marathon, American pro Alice Alberts improved to a 3:06 and won Ironman Lake Placid. Two months later, she also won Ironman Maryland, setting another new run PR (3:02) – not bad for someone who went from new swimmer to pro triathlete only three years ago.
Rachel Zilinskas also deserves an honorable mention in this category: Known as one of the fastest triathlon swimmers, Zilinskas hadn’t yet been able to break 9:30 for a full Ironman. This summer, she was able to improve her PR to 9:12 at Ironman Mont-Tremblant, winning the race and securing the final Kona 2023 qualifying spot.
Men’s Breakthrough Season: Jason West
For years, Jason West has been one of the best runners in triathlon. That hasn’t changed at all this year, but what has changed is a more consistent performance on the swim and bike, which set him up to start the run in a better position. Usually, when triathletes work on their weakness, it tends to dull their strengths a bit – something that West has avoided so far. Last year, he wasn’t able to finish a PTO event in the Top 10, but this year he took a fifth in Ibiza, second place in Milwaukee and third in Asia. After being on the podium this year, he has worked his way onto the short list of candidates for a PTO win in 2024 – that is, if he doesn’t make the men’s Olympic team, which is also on his radar.
Women’s Breakthrough Season: Imogen Simmonds
When Imogen Simmonds started to race deep European 70.3 fields in 2018, she quickly evolved into one of the best half-distance athletes – at the 2019 70.3 World Championships in Nice, she finished third. Then she struggled with injuries, eventually leading to surgery in early 2022. This year, she was back to her old level of racing: Highlights of her year are probably four wins at Challenge half-distance races and another bronze medal at 70.3 Worlds. She also improved from #46 to a Top 10 spot in the PTO World Rankings.
Section dividerMen’s Most Competitive Race of the Year: PTO U.S. Open
The PTO continued to get strong and deep fields for their PTO Tour events in 2023. Among all races, the U.S. Open in Milwaukee was also the closest race, with the top four finishers within 93 seconds (Jan Frodeno, Jason West, Kristian Blummenfelt, Mathis Margirier). When only looking at the podium, Ironman Texas had only 21 seconds between Rudy von Berg, Robert Wilkowiecki and Matthew Marquard – and quite a few lead changes in the last kilometers.
Women’s Most Competitive Race of the Year: 70.3 Bahrain
It’s fitting that one of the tightest races in women’s professional triathlon this year was also one of the last of the season: 103 seconds separated winner Kat Matthews from fourth-place Ellie Salthouse (with Amelia Watkinson and Caroline Pohle in second and third). Salthouse was also part of the tightest podium in 2023, with 53 seconds at 70.3 Kraichgau between Laura Philipp, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Salthouse.
Section dividerMen’s Swim of the Year: Aaron Royle, PTO Open
If you look at the big 2023 races, there is one athlete who is consistently among the top swimmers and often also in a great position at the end of the race, too. Aaron Royle was first out of the water in all three PTO Open races this season, securing the #1 position in the swim rankings. (Fun fact: Henri Schoeman is the only athlete to ever beat him out of the water in a PTO event – the 2022 PTO Canadian Open.) Often Royle is able to use his good swim to be close to the front for the whole race, finishing in the Top 10 at the PTO European and Asian Open and in second place at The Challenge Championship.
Women’s Swim of the Year: Lucy Charles-Barclay, Ironman World Championship Kona
There can be no doubt about who is the top female triathlete in the swim: Lucy Charles-Barclay leads the swim rankings with an average score of more than 100 points (possible, but quite rare). Her swim in Kona is a great example of how she sets up her races: Leading out strong in the first few hundred meters to shake off anyone trying to follow her, then using the rest of the swim to extend her lead. If things go well (as they did for her in Kona), she can then ride without having to worry if she is pulling anyone with her. Of course, racing from the front isn’t easy by any means (as she shared in an interview with Triathlete), but in Kona, Charles-Barclay found the perfect balance between racing within herself and still pushing herself.
Section dividerMen’s Bike of the Year: Magnus Ditlev, Challenge Roth
Over the last few years years, full-distance bike times have been getting faster across the board. In 2023, we saw a number of legitimate sub-4-hour bike splits. Magnus Ditlev rode the first of these at Challenge Roth, when he was eight minutes quicker than previous course record holder Cam Wurf in 2018. While Ditlev’s bike split is remarkable on his own, he was also able to follow up with a 2:37 marathon – it seems that he still had plenty of energy left in the tank after the bike leg!
Another impressive bike leg has already been mentioned as part of the overall performance of the year: Sam Laidlow “only” had a 4:31 bike split, but he rode away from everyone else at the men’s Ironman World Championship, putting more than four minutes into Ditlev and the rest of the field on the hilly bike ride in Nice.
Women’s Bike of the Year: Daniela Ryf, Challenge Roth
The best bike leg in women’s professional triathlon this year was also set at Challenge Roth: Daniela Ryf rode a 4:22:56, eleven minutes quicker than Lisa Norden who had the second-fastest bike leg of the day. Ryf was also an astounding 18 minutes quicker than when Chrissie Wellington set the old “fastest known time” on the full distance in 2011, leading Wellington herself to deem Ryf the “greatest athlete the sport has seen.”
There were other impressive bike rides in 2023, among them Lisa Norden at Ironman Western Australia (who set a new Ironman bike record at 4:21:15) and the winners at 70.3 Worlds (Taylor Knibb) and in Kona (Lucy Charles-Barclay), where the foundation for both titles was laid on the bike.
Section dividerMen’s Run of the Year: Jason West, PTO U.S. Open
When Jason West started the run at the PTO U.S. Open in Milwaukee, he was in 20th place, 5:21 behind the lead group of Mathis Margirier, Jan Frodeno and Kristian Blummenfelt. West had posted the fastest run split at the PTO European Open earlier in the year, allowing him to run from 4:26 down in 18th place all the way up to fifth place. His Milwaukee run was even better than that: He ran four and a half minutes quicker than anyone else in the field. In the final kilometer, he also sprinted away from Kristian Blummenfelt who was fighting hard to counter intense leg cramping. At the finish line, West had overtaken everyone but Jan Frodeno, who managed to save 27 seconds of his lead. West’s run scored him an incredible 107.92 points in the PTO Run Rankings, the highest-ever score in any discipline.
On the full distance, Patrick Lange posted two super-fast marathons: A 2:30:27 at Challenge Roth (beating his own marathon record from Israel 2022) and a 2:32:41 in Nice – both times allowing him to run through the field and finish in second place.
Women’s Run of the Year: Anne Haug, PTO European Open
In 2022, Ashleigh Gentle was unbeaten on the 100k distance, leveraging her fast run. Anne Haug ended that streak with her win in the first PTO race of the year at the European Open in Ibiza. The race was going well for Haug towards the end of the bike, when she was able to reduce her gap from around three minutes to the leader Lucy Charles-Barclay to just over two minutes, and less than 30 seconds behind Gentle. On the run, it took her only 3k to overtake Gentle. After 9k, Haug also took the lead from Charles-Barclay and won with a gap of two and a half minutes. Haug’s run split in Ibiza was faster than half of the men’s Pro field. Haug also ran well on the full distance, posting the two fastest marathons of the year: A 2:44:45 at Challenge Roth and a 2:48:23 at Kona, a new female run course record.